Christy Martin leaving husband for woman at time of attack

James Martin is accused of stabbing and shooting the professional boxer.

Photo of James Martin, released by the Orange County Sheriff's… (Orange County Sheriff's…)

December 1, 2010|By Bianca Prieto, Orlando Sentinel

A violent attack on famous boxer Christy Martin by her husband, James, was preceded by her announcement that she was leaving him for a woman, according to Orange County Sheriff's Office records.

On Nov. 23, the day of the attack, James "Jim" Martin called friends to say Christy was seeing someone else and he was "in a bad way," a family friend told investigators. That evening, Christy Martin was stabbed and shot at her home near Apopka.

The records show Christy Martin, 42, returned home Nov. 23 after spending the night away, possibly with a woman described as a longtime friend with whom she is now in a romantic relationship.

The records released Wednesday also show Jim Martin may have been stalking his wife, spying on her and threatening to "destroy" her career and reputation by releasing videos on the Internet.

Jim Martin, 66, was arrested Tuesday after running from deputies for a week. He was taken to Orlando Regional Medical Center for treatment of self-inflicted stab wounds, deputies said.

Sheriff's records show the Martins' marriage was on the rocks, and that Christy Martin told her husband she was leaving him just prior to the attack.

That evening, Christy Martin was in her bedroom talking on the phone with the woman when her husband came in with something behind his back, according to an interview with a detective in the emergency room at Florida Hospital Apopka.

"She said it was a knife with a…blade," the report stated. "They fought in the bedroom and he had a black handgun in his pocket."

Christy Martin said she remembered James Martin trying to fire the gun, but thought it had misfired. At some point during the struggle, she ran out the front door and into the street.

The bloody and injured boxer flagged down a passer-by in an Isuzu and told the driver she had been shot or stabbed by her husband. At that point, she handed the driver a blood-smeared pink handgun, according to the report.

When a sheriff's official located Christy Martin in the emergency room, she had dried blood on both of her cheeks, around her mouth and both ears and in her hair.

Doctors determined she had been stabbed in the chest, and had another wound that was described as "down to the bone." The partially redacted report also states that in an X-ray, a physician spotted a metal object identified as a bullet.

Deputies immediately began their search for Jim Martin, but when they arrived at the couple's home, he was gone.

On Tuesday, investigators acting on an anonymous tip found Jim Martin hiding inside a storage shed blocks from his home. At first, he refused to surrender to deputies but later emerged with a bloody knife and suffering from self-inflicted stab wounds, authorities said.

Court records showed he was scheduled to appear before Orange County Judge Deb Blechman Wednesday morning, but his court appearance will be rescheduled after he is released from the hospital, jail spokesman Allen Moore said. Jim Martin faces charges of attempted first-degree murder and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon.

A representative for Christy Martin released her first public statement early Wednesday expressing gratitude for support from her friends and fans.

"Female boxing legend Christy Martin would like to thank her friends and fans for their support, love and encouraging thoughts and wishes during this difficult time," said the statement, written by John Moceyunas, a spokesman with Don King Productions. Television video showed Martin walking out of the Sheriff's Office Wednesday afternoon with a bandage on her left leg.

Christy Martin gained fame as the world's best-known female boxer. Her professional career began in 1989, and her fame catapulted the sport into the national consciousness, however briefly.

In the early 1990s, she signed with promoter Don King, who placed her in several pay-per-view fights. She once boxed on an undercard for Mike Tyson.